Chasing Cheerios

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Where to buy Montessori Materials?

Where is your favorite online store for buying Montessori materials? This is a frequent question that is emailed to me, and I don't have an answer because I rarely buy Montessori materials. However, I'd like to buy a set of knobless cylinders, and I'm looking for recommendations...Also, what are your favorite Montessori materials for children age 6 and older? O is only 4, but she will be homeschooled starting in first grade, and I'm wondering what kinds of materials I need to get to prepare for this. Thanks in advance for any input!

I have used Ifit Montessori in the past, I have had two big orders. The first time the customer service was excellent the second not so good and when a friend alos in Japan tried to order from them her email was downright rude. As for the equipment, I think if you are using it at home it is OK, it would look pretty shabby, pretty quickly if used in a full class, paint chipping etc. But then, you get what you pay for.There has been talk in the Montessori forums of one of the online companies - I think it was Kaybee, (don't quote me on that!) has gone bankrupt and people loosing money.

I love Montessori Services for Practical Life, but for Sensorial, Math, Sandpaper Letters and Movable Alphabets I like Nienhaus. I drool all over that catalog, I admit it. At home, I settle for Montessori Outlet and cross my fingers. Quality is okay, shipping is a gamble. Alison Montessori is acceptable.

For Printables, Montessori Print Shop is great. I also like Montessori For Everyone, and Montessori for Learning.

Do not use Adena or Kidvance, both out of business and still accepting orders. Too risky.

I ordered a large order from Kid Advance in OCtober and I was pleased with the order. There were a few things that got damaged and they replaced them right away. I also found a place called Montessori Outlet. Both of their prices were close to each other and much lower then other places. I hope that helps. As for the best things to get for a first grader, I'm still trying to figure that out! :) The one thing that I think is SUPER important is the Golden Bead Material. I love how it can be used is so many ways. I recently visited our local Montessori School and the teachers there showed me a ton of ways that this material can be used. She recommend a book that shows how to teach montessori math up to age 12. It was called Math Works:Montessori Math and the Developing Brain. Hope that helps! :) I posted on my blog about my observation at our montessori school if you are interested! Good Luck!

I recently used http://www.montessorioutlet.com/ and was VERY happy with the service. It was quick speedy and the products were of great quality. They have deals on regularly. I think for the month of February they have free shipping.

I use Montessori Outlet and they are online and I have always been very pleased with their customer service and their products . I have loved everything I have ordered from them and look forward to placing a big math order here soon.

I don't have ideas on where to get the materials. But I wondered why you are waiting until 1st grade to homeschool? I have my oldest in preK this year and homeschooling is more on my mind now then ever before but I am thinking about it for kindergarten next year.

We have our daughter in Montessori preschool too and will homeschool starting first grade, although we do school on her two days home now. I bought our whole array of Montessori material at Kid Advance and thought it was good quality for the price and their service was excellent and I got my order quickly. I wasn't aware they had gone out of business as Jessie stated. You'll want the bead material if you will be doing Montessori math.

i purchased products from Adena montessori because I was unsure how long i would be using them and did not want to spend a fortune just a few months before moving somewhere with a good montessori school. That turns out to be the case, but nevertheless, i would rather have spent more on better products that I could have resold or kept in case we move again (we are a military family) because the quality of the products is just not there. uneven finishes, sizing that is off, and they almost never filled an order in a timely fashion. I would avoid them if possible.

I am an AMI trained Montessorian and bought some toddler material for my 10 month old daughter from Montessori Outlet. She had a hard time with them, but I wasn't sure why till I took her to a Montessori parent-infant class that had Nienhuis material. And I realized our stuff was TOO BIG for baby to handle, TOO HEAVY for her to manipulate, and the imbucare drawer box thing had a back to the drawer so if she didn't close it the ball would get stuck behind the drawer. Nienhuis version has no back, so toddler use it SUCCESSFULY. My daughter gets frustrated with it and loses interest. I have to be with her to close the drawer for her. This structural mistake along with size and weight are SERIOUS mistakes (not like paint quality, varnish, etc- they don't matter in terms of use). After this experience I no longer look for bargains. They're expensive, but Nienhuis and Gonzagareddi know what they're doing.

I initially looked for the least expensive materials I could find, but then was disappointed in them. They wouldn't last even just for my one child to use while homeschooling. Paint would chip (big concern with all of the lead scares), thinner materials would warp, my baric tablets I couldn't even tell a difference in, much less my child, maps chipped easy, etc. I've bought from Montessori Concepts, Kid Advance, and on ebay. I finally decided it was better to go for quality and I could resell when I'm finished with them. Young Minds At Play (www.youngmindsatplay.com) makes very high quality materials right here in the US. They have a natural finish of beeswax/oil so you don't have to worry about paint chipping either.

About Me

Welcome to Chasing Cheerios! I am a mostly stay at home mom (I work 45 days per year as a School Psychologist) of 2 girls and wife to Elliott. "O" is 6 years old, and "E" is 2. We love to do Montessori inspired activities with our girls as well as fun art, science, nature, and cooking projects. I also love to make things with and for my girls. Please contact me with any questions at ChasingCheerios@gmail.com

These velcro blocks have been "in progress" for more than a year, and I am SO glad to finally be done with them! I started maki...

Product Reviews

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